The Devil's Water
by Matisse
Summary: They say the Devil's water, it ain't so sweet. You don't have to drink right now, but you can dip your feet every once and a little while.
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: I do not own Newsies or any of the characters and in no way have any rights to be using them in a story. I do however own Angel, Titan, and any other characters who may show up in my story that don't show up in the movie. Oh, and the lyrics belong to The Killers' "When You Were Young."_

* * *

The Devil's Water

_They say the Devil's water, it ain't so sweet._

_You don't have to drink right now,_

_But you can dip your feet, every once and a little while._

Hop one foot. Hop two feet. Skip. Hop. Jump. Bend over. Pick up stone. The young girl, only about eight years old, giggled triumphantly as she once again beat herself at hopscotch. Perched close by on a pile of crates, a boy sat watching the girl as her tiny feet fell in between crude chalk outlines of misshapen squares etched across the boardwalk.

"How ya doing, Angel?" he called out to the little girl. She froze in place, and cast a glance over her shoulder.

"Fine," she replied, and resumed her game.

"You getting tired yet?" he asked. She stopped again, this time turning her full body in his direction, hands on her hips and an exasperated look on her face.

"Titan, you are ruining my game." He laughed.

"Well, excuse me, ma'dam, my sincerest apologies," he replied with a flourished bow. "I shan't disturb you any further." Angel giggled.

"You're silly," she informed him, and went back to playing. Titan sighed and stretched out his limbs. The sun was just beginning to set, and the peaceful beauty of the scene put him on edge. Any other day, this evening would have been as close to perfection as someone like him could hope for, but after the events which had unfolded only hours before, it seemed foreboding.

He heard someone grunt behind him and spun around, whipping out his switchblade in the process, and crouched in a ready position. A moment later, a boy clambered over the crates just above where Titan stood. The boy caught sight of him and stopped. He was stood atop the crate, a slingshot hanging out of his back pocket and a cane that looked more suited for a gentleman than a scrappy street rat strapped to his hip.

"What you got that thing out for?" the boy asked, seemingly unconcerned for his own safety.

"Uh, nothing. Just a reflex," Titan replied, closing the blade and slipping it into his pocket. The boy nodded understandingly.

"I gotcha. Lucky it wasn't me sitting down here, and you climbing over these boxes. Woulda had you out cold before I even realized I was aiming at you," the boy said with a laugh, tapping his slingshot appreciatively. "Names Spot Conlon. From Brooklyn."

"Titan. Brooklyn, huh? If you don't mind my asking, what brings you all the way out here?"

"Just got bored. Wanted to take a walk over the water. Manahattan's getting kinda tiresome so I thought I'd try Staten Island for a change of scene."

"Be careful around these parts at night, kid," Titan warned. Spot's eyes narrowed and turned an icy cold grey.

"Who you callin' a kid? I'm thirteen years old. I oughta soak ya," the boy snapped. Titan held up his hands apologetically, which seemed to satisfy the offended boy, and Spot's eyes faded back to their original wide-eyed warm blue. An awkward silence ensued, which was interrupted by the sound of a girl clearing her throat rather loudly. Both boys turned around. Angel was standing just below them at the bottom of the crates, glaring up at them, hands on her hips, looking most annoyed.

"Titan, I wanna meet you're new friend. I hate when you leave me out." she whined, pushing out her bottom lip in a long since perfected pout.

"Oh, uh, this here's Spot," he said, gesturing towards the boy. Spot jumped down from the crates and extended a hand towards Angel.

"Pleased to meet ya. What's your name?" he asked.

"Angel," she replied, rocking back and forth with a smile on her face, clearly happy to be the center of attention. "And that's my brother, Titan." She pointed to Titan, who had just climbed down from the crates.

"Bet he looks out for you." She nodded and gestured for Spot to come closer. He obliged.

"Sometimes he's annoying though, and doesn't let me do stuff cause he says I'll get hurt," she whispered, cupping her hands over his ear as she did to make sure Titan didn't hear her secret. "But I do it anyway when he's not around." Spot laughed.

"I like the way you think," he said, winking at her.

"Hey! What's that for?" she asked, pointing to a key hung around his neck on a string.

"I don't know, but someday, I'm gonna find out."

"I'll help you," she told him, eager for a puzzle to solve.

"No, you won't," said Titan firmly, stepping into the conversation. She pouted and crossed her arms.

"You never let me have any fun." Surveying the scene, Spot decided it was a good time to go.

"Well, it was nice meeting you two. I guess I'll be going now." He tipped his hat and grabbed onto the first crate in the pile, preparing to climb back the way he came.

"Wait!" cried Angel. She ran over to him and reached into the pocket of her dress. She pulled out a shiny pebble that was a pretty shade of blue and handed it to him, all smiles. "For good luck. It'll help you find where your key goes." Spot couldn't help but smile in return. He accepted the gift and stuck it into his trouser pocket.

"Thanks." He leaned over and kissed the top of her head, then took off in a flash over the crates and out of sight.

Angel turned to face her brother, a blushing pink spreading across her cheeks. Titan's fists were clenched at his side and his eyes narrowed as he stood glowering at the place where the boy, Spot, had vanished over the crates.

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**AN: So, I just whipped up this story yesterday. It's inspired by The Killers' song "When You Were Young" which is an amazing song, and I'm pretty confident that this is gonna be amazing too. I like this because its going to have some darker undertones and questionable going-ons and what not, which is my absolute favorite kind of stuff to write. I probably won't update this too frequently, but I'm gonna try for at least once a week. I gotta make sure this is good! Let me know what you think :)**


	2. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own Newsies or any of the characters and in no way have any rights to be using them in a story. I do however own Angel, Titan, and any other characters who may show up in my story that don't show up in the movie. Oh, and the lyrics belong to The Killers' "When You Were Young."_

* * *

The Devil's Water

_They say the Devil's water, it ain't so sweet._

_You don't have to drink right now,_

_But you can dip your feet, every once and a little while._

Angel rushed through the bustling afternoon crowds, attempting to shorten her lengthy walk home. It had been a rough day at work, and she was tired. Her boss, Mrs. Olson, was a deplorable old hag with absolutely no people skills. It often fell upon Angel to placate furious customers whom Mrs. Olson had offended in some way or another. Yesterday evening, Mrs. Olson's favorite cat, named Teddy after the president, had been trampled by a runaway carriage. Today, the woman had been in the foulest of moods, which lead to an influx of angry customers for Angel to deal with. As if that wasn't bad enough, she had to work two hours later than usual as well. Now she would be late getting home, and Titan most likely would have worn a hole in the floor of their small flat from his worried pacing by the time she arrived. Titan didn't like that she worked in Manhattan, especially because it required her to cut through Brooklyn to get back to Staten Island. However, even more than he disliked the idea of her working far away, he disliked the idea of her working in a factory like he did or as a newsie like he had when he was young. The only seamstress she could convince to hire her was in Manhattan so, Manhattan it was.

As she turned a corner, she collided with a boy who seemed to be in even more of a hurry than she was. He knocked her down and fell right on top of her. Without so much as a word of apology, he picked himself up and took off down the street once again. Angel frowned, wondering what on earth his problem was when she looked in the opposite direction and got her answer. A policeman was rapidly closing in on her location, puffing mercilessly on his whistle. He passed by just as she was standing up and stopped.

"Excuse me, Miss, are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you," she replied, straightening her blouse and smoothing out her skirt.

"Did you happen to see which way that boy went?" he asked impatiently, glancing in all directions. She told him she had and pointed him in the wrong direction. Her brother had taught her early on that the bulls were not to be trusted, and she had no interest in helping the officer. As he thanked her, she caught a glimpse of an oddly familiar looking boy hawking papers on the opposite street corner over the man's shoulder. She hardly noticed as the police officer left, for at that moment the boy turned in her direction and caught her gaze. She was frozen, mesmerized by the shockingly blue eyes that she was certain she knew but somehow found herself unable to place. After what seemed like hours, images started to flash up from the depths of her repressed memories. Hopscotch. A crooked grin. Soft lips on her forehead. A limber boy with a slingshot in his back pocket and a cane at his side disappearing over the top of a stack of crates. An unexpected warmth flooded her body, her breath caught in her throat, and every cell in her body tingled.

"Spot," she breathed, so quietly that it only could have been audible to her. For the first time she connected the name and the memories associated with it to the stories she'd heard about the strike from her brother back when he still sold papes for a living. The boy from her past. The hero of the newsies. One in the same. A staggering cold hit her body, eliminating the warm feelings from mere seconds earlier. His reputation coupled with her doubt that he remembered her at all was enough to make her feel like an absolute lunatic for staring at him so creepily. She panicked and felt sick to her stomach with dread. Her cheeks flushed an unnaturally bright red and she took off running down the street at a speed faster than she knew she was capable of moving.

\ - \ - \ - \

"Blazing Fire Reeks Havoc on Crown Street! Residents Barely Escape Alive! Buildings Burned to the Ground!" a blue-eyed, dusty-haired boy called out from a heavily trafficked street corner, waving papers covered in newsprint above his head. A man approached him and exchanged a copper penny for one of the boy's newspapers. The boy smiled and wished him a nice day. He opened his mouth, preparing to shout the headlines again when he caught the sound of a police whistle being blown furiously. He chuckled to himself.

"Some blokes got himself in a tough fix. That copper's out for blood." He had only just begun calling well rehearsed, customer enticing phrases once again when the whistle blowing halted. He glanced around, looking for whoever the cop had just caught, knowing there was a fair good chance the poor son of a bitch would be the boy's headline tomorrow. He finally spotted the officer, but instead of cuffing some low-life bastard as the boy expected, the man was walking away from an extremely attractive young lady. A young lady who was staring at him as if she had just seen a ghost. Upon further consideration of the matter, he concluded that there was something strangely familiar about her. The more he thought about it, the more he was enchanted by her mystery and found himself unable to look away. A tender glow and hint of recognition flickered across her amber eyes and it hit him like a train going a hundred miles an hour. Tiny hands on tiny hips. Whispered secrets in his ear. An outstretched palm balancing a shiny pebble. He remembered. In about the amount of time it took for him to gather these thoughts, the girl's expression had been wiped completely devoid of warmth and replaced by raw fear. She took off running like the devil himself was on her tail. As he watched her retreating figure, he shoved his hand down into the bottom of his pocket and felt his hand close around a cool smooth stone that had been worn down by years of his calloused fingers running over it whenever he was in a tight situation and needed a little bit of luck.

"Impossible."

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**AN: So, I hope you like this little tidbit. It is the spark which will light the fire of this whole story. And if case you haven't picked up on it yet, this story is told from a combination of Angel, Titan, and Spot's perspectives, just to spice things up for you. I would love to hear what you think, so review please :)**


	3. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I do not own Newsies or any of the characters and in no way have any rights to be using them in a story. I do however own Angel, Titan, and any other characters who may show up in my story that don't show up in the movie. Oh, and the lyrics belong to The Killers' "When You Were Young."_

* * *

The Devil's Water

_They say the Devil's water, it ain't so sweet._

_You don't have to drink right now,_

_But you can dip your feet, every once and a little while._

"Titan, can we please go to the pier now?" begged a sweet looking little girl, amber eyes shinning with tears at the ready should they be needed. Titan sighed and slid his cap off his head before running a hand through his greasy hair.

"Angel, sweetie, I'm really tired. Can't it wait?" he asked.

"No! Titan, you said we could go when you were finished selling your papes. You _promised_," she replied, stressing the word 'promised' so that under no circumstances could he forget that he'd given her his word. Knowing that it was useless to argue with the impertinent child, he conceded.

"Alright, let's go. But we're not staying more than an hour tonight." He added the last part in an attempt to assert at least some authority over the younger girl. He was her brother after all and in the absence of their parents, it was his responsibility to take care of her. She needed to learn that she couldn't always weasel him into letting her have whatever she wanted. She glowered at him for a moment but soon accepted the compromise upon realizing she didn't have much of a choice.

"Fine."

They arrived at the waterfront just as the sun was setting. The sky was a blend of reds, yellows, and oranges streaked with the occasional line of purple. Titan seated himself on a crate and leaned backwards to rest his head on another while stifling a yawn. Angel ran from one end of the dock to the other, peeked around crates, and struggled her way to the top of the pile to peer over at the other side. Titan sighed, knowing that a fuss would soon follow. This had become a daily routine. He and Angel had come down here everyday for the past week, beginning the day after they had met the boy named Spot, with whom Angel had unfortunately become infatuated. For some reason he was incapable of understanding, she believed Spot would come back to visit her. She had a 'logical' explanation each time he failed to show up, but this time, as it was exactly one week since he visited the first time, she was convinced that he would be there. When Angel realized the boy was nowhere to be found, she would undoubtedly be significantly more upset than she had been previously. She returned to Titan crestfallen, a look of utter disappointment and rejection upon her face. She titled her head and her glistening eyes met his.

"H…he didn't c…come," she stammered, bottom lip trembling. She threw herself into her brother's arms as she succumbed to the tears. Titan sat there holding onto her for a lot longer than thought was necessary as sobs racked her tiny frame. When she finally stopped crying, it was only because her body was too fatigued to produce any more tears. Titan picked her up and cradled her in his arms.

"We're gonna go home now, okay, Angel?" he asked, though the question was more for conformation that she was still functioning than her opinion on whether or not they could leave. She nodded.

"Okay."

By the time they got back to the alley outside the abandoned store in which they had been living, Angel had passed out. Still holding his sister up with one arm, he used the other to push a barrel aside, revealing a hole in the planks just big enough for a boy Titan's size to squeeze through. He had found this place the night after they met Spot. He had planned on just sleeping in the alley for the night but found a weak spot in the wood boarding up the old building where it had begun to rot. A few tugs and he had made the entrance. Turned out the inside was pretty nice for how broken down the old store was on the outside, and he decided it would do as their home, at least for now anyway. Angel began to stir as he put her down inside the building.

"Titan?" she called out.

"Yea, I'm here, Angel," he said, sliding halfway into the hole so that he could rub her arm reassuringly.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked. He frowned.

"No. Never. What makes you think that?"

"He didn't come back to see me. Am I not pretty, Titan?" As silly as he knew she was being, Titan couldn't help but feel his heart crumble at his sister's words.

"No, sweetie, you're beautiful. Never let anyone make you think that isn't true."

"But…" she argued.

"Stop," Titan said firmly. "I got an idea. How 'bout we make a pact to forget about him, huh? Show him he can't win. If he's ignoring you, we'll ignore him better." Titan was sure that even in her most upset state, the notion of secret packs and competition would spark the girl's interest. He was right.

"Okay," she agreed.

"Shake on it?" he asked, extending his hand to Angel. She half smiled and spit in her palm before placing her little hand into his much larger one.

"Spitshake on it. Like you and your friends." He laughed and patted her on the head. She crawled over to the pile of rags on the floor that was her bed, curled up in a ball, and went to sleep. Titan reached out of the hole and pulled the barrel back in place over it, closing them off from the world and all its problems.

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**AN: I keep surprising myself with how fast I am updating this, but what can I say? I don't have any papers due aytime soon, so I don't know what to do with myself other than write like a maniac. Can't promise they'll be like this forever though. We'll see. Anyway, hope you enjoyed. I think this scene is really cute. The next one's better. I can't wait to post it. So, read and review and I will :)**


	4. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I do not own Newsies or any of the characters and in no way have any rights to be using them in a story. I do however own Angel, Titan, and any other characters who may show up in my story that don't show up in the movie. Oh, and the lyrics belong to The Killers' "When You Were Young."_

* * *

The Devil's Water

_They say the Devil's water, it ain't so sweet._

_You don't have to drink right now,_

_But you can dip your feet, every once and a little while._

It had been three days since her chance encounter with Spot, and Angel was beginning to wonder if she had simply imagined the whole thing. It seemed too surreal. Still, her doubt didn't keep her from hurrying a lot faster than usual through that particular part of Brooklyn. She did not want another run in. She had been humiliated enough the first time. The last thing she needed was for him to take notice of her and start thinking of her as 'that creepy girl who keeps stalking him' or something along those lines. It crossed her mind that perhaps she had only run into him that day because she was coming home later than usual. Maybe he didn't sell there earlier in the day. That thought had reassured her yesterday, but today, she was once again about two hours late getting off work and could almost feel her skin crawling with nerves.

As she rounded the street corner where she had collided with the boy on the run yesterday, she found that her fears were entirely founded. In fact, everything she had feared paled in comparison to what was actually happening. Lounging against a streetlamp, with a satisfied smirk on his lips, was Spot, absent-mindedly twirling his cane. He couldn't have been more than two feet in front of her. He smiled and stopped his cane mid-twirl, planting the tip firmly at her feet as he stepped towards her.

"Been waiting for you to come around." There was no getting out of this one.

\ - \ - \ - \

After seeing the girl across the street, Spot had become determined to find out if she was indeed who he suspected she was. He had returned to the street corner where he saw her, every day for the past three days, and stood there for hours on end in the hopes of catching her. He was just about ready to give up on the whole thing and call it quits when fate decided to grant him a little luck. Her she was, standing right before his very eyes. Most definitely not his imagination, and upon getting a better look at her this time around, most definitely Angel. Albeit, she was a significantly more grown up version of the girl he'd met so many years ago, having developed, very nicely he might add, over the past six years. Her hair was longer, hanging in thick curls that feel just across the top of her breasts, and nearly as dark as the midnight sky. She was taller, obviously, and no longer a scrawny little kid with protruding bones, had just enough extra skin to accentuate her womanly figure. The only thing that hadn't changed and gave away her age was the innocence in her sparkling, amber eyes, in which he could almost see a reflection of the eight-year old girl beaming up at him like he was king of the world. Funny thing, now he really was.

"I think you must have me confused with someone else," she stammered in response to his address. He leaned in close so that their faces were mere inches apart.

"No, Angel. I don't think I do." He heard a quick intake of air and the girl jumped back into the wall, looking absolutely flabbergasted.

"You…remember me?" He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the shiny blue stone, holding it up between his index finger and thumb for her to see. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She stayed that way for a moment, awestruck by the sight of the small relic she herself had almost forgotten.

"I can't believe you sill have that," she said, having finally regained control of her basic functioning capabilities. He nodded.

"My little good luck charm," he added as he dropped it back into his pocket. "Works too." She laughed hesitantly, as if she was unsure of whether or not she was allowed to.

"Did you ever find it?" she asked.

"Find what?"

"Whatever it is your key opens." He let out a brief chuckle, remembering the quest of his youth, and shook his head.

"Don't think it really matters much anymore. Don't know if it ever did." Angel pursed her lips as if deep in thought.

"I'd like to help you find it," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Well, I can't say no to that offer. Especially if it means I get to see more of you," he said and winked. Her cheeks reddened and she smiled awkwardly. They sat in silence for a moment before Spot broke it. "So, where are you headed?"

"Home," she replied.

"Need an escort?" he asked with a charming grin, offering her his arm.

"It couldn't hurt." She slid her arm around the crook of his as they started off down the road. He could feel her shaking and noticed as she wiped her palms on her skirt. He smiled inwardly. He found her nervousness to be astonishingly cute and refreshing in comparison to the overbearing nature of most of the girls he found in his company.

They chatted along the walk, catching each other up on the past six years of their lives, but only superficially, discussing things like where they worked, what they did, and where they lived. He told her a bit more about the strike, and about life in the lodging house with the rest of the newsboys. She told him about her brother and her friends, or rather, lack thereof. Finding nothing wrong with her himself, he chalked her lack of companionship up to an overprotective big brother who kept her shut away from the world, but she didn't seem to make the connection. They stopped a block before their destination.

"I should probably say goodbye here. If Titan sees you with me, there'll be a whole lot of questions I'd rather not be bothered to answer." Spot nodded, accepting her logic.

"I'd like to see you again. Say, tomorrow, same time, same place?"

"Well, I'll probably be getting off work a couple hours earlier, so if you don't mind meeting then you can walk me home again…if you're not busy I mean…" she trailed off, averting her eyes. He grabbed her chin and tipped her head up so that her eyes were looking straight a his.

"Sounds great." He let go of her jaw, but not before holding on a moment longer than he should have to look her over once more before turning to go. He was certain she hadn't breathed once until he stepped away.

"Don't you stand me up or anything," he joked, adding on his signature wink for good measure, and left her standing in the street, frozen in place. He didn't know when she finally went home, but he was certain it wasn't until long after his figure had faded from view.

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**AN: It has been brought to my attention that the timeline of this story might be confusing (sorry!), and I have thought about putting time markers at the beginning of every chapter but idk, i don't think it will work. But, I do mention how long its been since the original meeting of Spot, Angel, and Titan in every chapter, just look for it. And some general rules that might be helpful - most everything told from Spot and Angel's perspective together is the present, and anything told from Titan's perspective is gonna be the past. That's not 100% true, but like I said, I do put the time in every chapter so just watch for it. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think either way, I love reviews!**


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